
PROCEEDINGS AND ADDRESSES 

ATTENDING THE PRESENTATION OF A 
SILVER CENTRE-PIECE— REPRESENTING 
AN ANCIENT AZTEC TEOCALLI— TO THE 
AZTEC CLUB, AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING, IN 
NEW YORK CITY, OCTOBER 13™, 1892, BY 
COL. DE LANCEY FLOYD-JONES, U .S. ARMY 




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PROCEEDINGS AND ADDRESSES 

ATTENDING THE PRESENTATION OF A 
SILVER CENTRE-PIECE— REPRESENTING 
AN ANCIENT AZTEC TEOCALLI— TO THE 
AZTEC CLUB, AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING, IN 
NEW YORK CITY, OCTOBER 13TH, 1892, BY 
COL DE LANCEY FLOYD-JONES, U .S. ARMY 




NEW YORK 

PRESS OF J. J. LITTLE & CO. 

2-20 ASTOR PLACE 
1892 



A, 



Gift 

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At the forty-fifth meeting of the Aztec Club, held at Sherry's, 
in New York City, on the afternoon of October 13, 1892, and 
in due course of business, the following letter was read by 
Colonel Floyd-Jones: 

" Aztec Club, 37th Street and Fifth Avenue, 
New York City, October 13, 1892. 

" To the Officers and Members of the AzTEC CLUB : 

" Gentlemen : I take pleasure in presenting to this Club a 
souvenir in the form of a centre-piece for your dining table, 
which, I trust, will serve as a reminder of the land where this 
Club had its birth. The idea is taken from the design on the 
Club's diploma, and has been carried out by Tiffany & Com- 
pany. It represents an ancient Aztec teocalli (God's house), 
from which are growing plants common to Mexico, con- 
spicuous among which are several varieties of cacti, the agave 
Americana, or pulque plant, and the royal palm, 

"To those of us who had the good fortune of serving in that 
country, this design will readily recall old associations and 
pleasant memories; and to those who are gradually filling our 
places it may commend itself as a work of art, and possibly 
maybe the means of inducing some to visit the beautiful coun- 
try of the ancient Aztecs. Should it have the effect of adding 
in any manner greater interest in this Club, my object will be 
fully accomplished. 

" I now leave the token for your acceptance and enlightened 
criticism, with the hope that all who are present to-day, and 
our absent comrades as well, may long be spared to gather 
about it from year to year, and renew around the flowing bowl 
the memory of those days when we roved among the royal 
palms, drank the juice of the maguey, stood at the foot of 



ancient teocalH ruins, and let our fancy fly back to the olden 
time when their tops smoked with the blood and ashes oi 
human sacrifice. 

'• Yours very cordially, 

"De Lancey Floyd-Jones, 

" Colofiel U. S, Army {retired) ." 

Professor Henry Coppee, having been designated by Presi- 
dent Porter a committee of one to draft the proper preamble 
and resolutions for accepting the centre-piece, reported the 
following, which were unanimously adopted: 

" Aztec Club, 37lh Street and Fifth Avenue, 
New York, October 13, 1892. 

" Minute of Record. — The beautiful and appropriate silver 
centre-piece, presented at this meeting to the Aztec Club of 
1847 by our friend and comrade Colonel De Lancey Floyd- 
Jones, deserves special notice in our records. It was a generous 
thought in him to make us such a handsome present; it was 
a happy thought to take for its subject such a reminiscence 
of ancient Mexico, a ruined temple, the like of which many of 
us saw in our sojourn there, and a drawing of which is at the 
head of our diplomas. 

" The care which he has bestowed, and the charming taste 
he has displayed in the execution of this work, especially in 
encircling it with tropical foliage, add at once to its intrinsic 
and memorial value. His letter of presentation contains all 
that need be said by way of preliminary, and to elicit our 
thanks. Later it is hoped that he will give us additional 
information with regard to it. Meantime it is the duty and 
great pleasure of the Club to place upon the record of this 
meeting the following resolutions : 

''Resolved, That the hearty thanks of the Aztec Club are 
eminently due, and are hereby offered, to Colonel De Lancey 
Floyd-Jones, for his generous and tasteful gift of a silver cen- 
tre-piece representing an ancient Mexican teocalli in ruins. 



5 

''Resolved, That his letter accompanying the gift be spread 
upon the minutes of the Club, and Colonel Floyd-Jones be 
requested to give us further information of Aztec ruins, etc. 

''Resolved, That the centre-piece be always placed upon the 
table at our annual and other banquets, and that it shall be 
confided to the keeping of the Treasurer. 

"Resolved, That an engrossed copy of this minute and 
these resolutions be sent by the Secretary to Colonel Floyd- 
Jones." 

In reply to the Minute of Re cord Xo\on€[ Floyd-Jones briefly 
expressed his high appreciation of the cordial manner in which 
his present had been received, and added that he had prepared 
a paper, chiefly relating to the Aztecs, which he would read 
to them at the banquet in the evening. 

The banquet in the evening was held at Sherry's, and was 
attended by the following members, viz. : 

General Fitz-John Porter, President, 

General Stewart Van Vliet, Vice-President, 

Colonel De Lancey Floyd-Jones, Treasurer, 

General Z. B. Tower, 

General Rufus Ingalls, 

Admiral Alexander C. Rhind, 

General C. C. Augur, 

General James Oakes, 

General James B. Fry, 

General D. M. Frost, 

Professor Henry Copp^e, LL.D., 

Colonel Thomas Y. Field, 

Colonel Frank Huger, 

Colonel George B. McClellan, 

Captain Henry P. Kingsbury, 

Lieutenant Richard G. Davenport, 

Mr. Augustus Porter Barnard, 

Mr. John H. Barnard, 

Mr. Charles Biddle, 

Mr. John Winter Brannan, 

Mr.' Edward H. Floyd-Jones, 

Mr. Graham Frost, 



Mr. J. A. Hays, 

Mr. Winfield Scott Hoyt, 

Mr. J. Watts Kearny. 

And the following guests : 

General John M. Schofield, Commanding U. S. Army, 

Major Clifton Comly, 

Mr. Edward Floyd De Lancey, 

Mr. Charles B. Fosdick. 

After the dinner and while enjoying the wine and cigars, 
General Porter toasted Colonel Floyd-Jones, and asked him to 
comply with the request, as made in the resolutions at the 
business meeting, to which the colonel responded as follows : 

Mr. President and Comrades of the Aztec Club : 

In rising to respond to your toast, I feel that I cannot fully 
convey my grateful thanks for the warm terms and kind words 
in which the Aztec Club has received this centre-piece, repre- 
senting an ancient Aztec teocalli, and I am afraid that I have 
not words which will adequately express my feelings; but rest 
assured that I shall prize more than I can tell the engrossed 
copy of the Minute of Record which the Secretary has been 
requested to furnish me, and which conveys in such agreeable 
terms your appreciation of this gift. 

In regard to the subject upon which I propose speaking this 
evening, as requested in one of your resolutions, and which 
chiefly relates to the Aztecs, I fear that our worthy President, 
General Fitz-Jphn Porter, has, in his introductory remarks, 
raised your expectations too high, but on one point you can 
rest assured, I shall aim not to tire by too long a talk. 

And first, I think it .appropriate to allude to the origin of 
this Club, which was started in the City of Mexico, on the 13th 
of October, 1847, within a month after the occupation of that 
city by the army under General Scott. Hence the date we 
celebrate is the anniversary of the foundation of this club in 
Mexico. We formerly kept the 14th of September, the date 
on which the city fell into our hands, but it was thought that 
the later date was more appropriate, and hence the 13th of 



October was adopted. Some resort of this description seemed 
essential to the officers stationed in the capital, as a promoter 
of good-fellowship, and as furnishing a home where they could 
pass their spare hours in social intercourse ; and also as giving 
them a restaurant where more palatable and healthful viands 
could be procured and at a much less price than at the best 
fondas of the city. 

As far as I have been able to learn, the chief promoters of 
it were General Charles F. Smith, Colonel John B. Grayson, 
General John B. Magruder, General Robert Buchanan, Gen- 
eral Charles P. Stone, and Professor Henry Coppee, all of 
the regular army, and General Franklin Pierce of the volun- 
teers, afterwards President of the United States. I have given 
the highest rank to which these officers attained, for at the 
date of our organization scarcely any were above the rank of 
captain. General Winfield Scott and Chaplain M. McCartey 
were the only honorary members elected, and the former 
proved an excellent friend of the Club, the supplies for which 
were largely brought from New Orleans, and introduced with- 
out duty, or the expense of ocean freight or land carriage, 
from Vera Cruz up to the city. The initiation fee was $20. 
I have not been able to learn that any annual dues were 
exacted. 

The original home of the Club was a handsome one, as it 
occupied the splendid mansion of Seiior Boca Negra, who had 
been formerly Minister to the United States from Mexico. 
The entire building, which was furnished, was at the disposal 
of the Club, and supplied most of the plant with which the 
Club began housekeeping. Handsome dinners were given, and 
almost every person of distinction who visited Mexico during 
its occupation were put up at the Club, and so popular did it 
become that after it was fairly in working order admission was 
rather difficult. The building occupied was located on one of 
the streets leading out of the Calle Plateros, and but two 
blocks from the Grand Plaza, a most convenient situation, and 
not far from the headquarters of General Scott, Commander- 
in-Chief. 

It may interest you to learn that the Calle Plateros, or Silver- 
smith Street, is one of the most prominent in the city, and 



8 

corresponds with our Broadway. It has more fine shops upon 
it than any other in Mexico, hence it is the popular promenade 
and driving street, and the resort of the fashionable young men, 
who there have the opportunity of meeting their fair friends. 
Many of the principal liotels and restaurants are located upon 
it and its extension — for in Mexico the streets often change 
their names every second block. To reach the Alameda or 
principal park, or the Paseo, the fashionable drive, one is 
likely to pass through the Calle Plateros. 

Personally I did not become a member of this Club while in 
Mexico, although solicited to do so, as I and most of my regi- 
ment were quartered, during much of our stay in the valley, in 
Tacubya, some five or six miles away from the city, and under 
these circumstances the Club would have been of little service 
to a second lieutenant who was closely confined to his company 
duties, whose only income was his monthly pay of $65.50, 
and to whom a dollar looked about " the size of a cart-wheel." 
This simile I borrow from a captain of the Fourth Infantry, 
who used to call up his little son and ask him how Ipig a dollar 
looked to a second lieutenant, and the little fellow would 
put on a quizzical look and say, " About the size of a cart- 
wheel ! " 

The records of the Club show that liquors and cigars were 
pretty freely indulged in, as the sales sometimes reached as 
high as $100 per day, and, as before stated, the restaurant 
was fairly well patronized ; but the greater share of the com- 
pany officers lived in their company messes ; officers detached 
from regimental or company duty were the principal fre- 
quenters of the Club restaurant.* 

And now a brief reference to Hernando Cortez. It is not 
my purpose to tell you of the conquest of Mexico. This has 

* At the time the "Army of Occupation" left Mexico the Aztec Club numbered 
166 members. 

Of these there are living, about 27 

Mexican war officers, army, navy, and marines, since elected and 

now living, about 37 

Associate members, and successors to members elected and liv- 
ing, about 136 

Total approximate strength of Club 200 



been done in such a fascinating way by Prescott and other 
writers that it would be presumption on my part to attempt it, 
but of the wonderful man, Hernando Cortez, who first entered 
Mexico and conquered the Aztecs, it seems appropriate to say 
something. It is well known that he set sail on his expedition 
from the island of Cuba in the latter part of the year 1518, 
after encountering innumerable difficulties and all sorts of 
obstacles, including that of the jealousy of the governor, Ve- 
lasquez, who had intrusted him with command. He reached 
the Mexican coast early in 1 5 19, and touching at various places, 
finally effected a permanent landing, April 21, 15 19, at a point 
near the site of the present city of Vera Cruz, and a little later 
established himself at a place to the north of the present city, 
which he called Villa Rica de Vera Cruz. The Vera Cruz of 
to-day was not settled and incorporated until 161 5. 

Almost immediately upon landing he made friendly overtures 
to the natives, and by the aid of their well-organized system 
of couriers communicated with their emperor in the Valley of 
Mexico, and asked permission to visit him at his capital. Cortez 
had been only a short time in camp when he was waited upon 
by an embassy from Montezuma, whose empire extended from 
the Valley of Mexico to the Gulf. The embassy, consisting of 
two Aztec nobles, was accompanied by the governor of the 
province and a hundred slaves, who bore rich gifts from the 
Mexican monarch ; and with the view of showing the progress 
this people had made in manufactures and the arts, I give the 
list of articles as detailed by Prescott : 

" They were of the most miscellaneous kind ; shields, helmets, 
cuirasses, embossed with plates and ornaments of pure gold ; 
collars and bracelets of the same metal, sandals, fans, panaches, 
and crests of variegated feathers, intermingled with gold and 
rich thread, and sprinkled with pearls and precious stones ; 
imitations of birds and animals in wrought and cast gold and 
silver of exquisite workmanship ; curtains, coverlets, and robes 
of cotton, fine as silk, of rich and various dyes, interwoven 
with featherwork that rivalled the delicacy of painting. There 
were more than thirty loads of cotton cloth in addition." A 
load for a Mexican bearer or porter was from fifty to sixty 

pounds. " Among the articles sent, and which excited the 

1* 



lO 

most admiration from the Spaniards, were two circular plates 
of gold and silver as large as carriage wheels ; one, representing 
the sun, was richly carved with plants and animals, no doubt 
denoting the Aztec Century." It was thirty palms in circum- 
ference, and was valued at 20,000 pesos de ore — the value of a 
peso de ore at that date in our currency being about equivalent 
to $11.67. Such a display of rich wares, added to the abun- 
dance of gold, naturally increased the cupidity of the Spaniards, 
but it also gave evidence of a people that was far advanced, 
and many regarded it as foolhardy, with their limited force, to 
make the attempt of advancing into the interior, especially in 
view of the opposition of Montezuma, who had expressed him- 
self through his embassy as opposed to their coming. But 
Cortez, with his indomitable will and determined spirit, decided 
that the object of his expedition had not been completed and 
that they must go forward. This brought forth murmurings 
from his people, and fearing that they might take to the ships 
and return, he decided to burn his transports and thus prevent 
their turning back. It was a bold measure, but by appealing 
to their pride, and the probabilities of possessing a country 
which was so rich in precious metals, he was able to conquer 
their fears, and preparations were made for the march to the 
interior. 

With the details of this march I will not delay you. Pro- 
fessor Henry Copp^e, one of the oldest and most active mem- 
bers of this Club, has, in a paper read before the Military 
Service Institution of the United States, painted in his most 
charming style many of the incidents of this campaign, and 
has most successfully pointed out the many coincidents be- 
tween the march of Cortez and that made in 1847, three hun- 
dred and twenty-seven years later, by the American army 
under General Winfield Scott, at that time Commander-in- 
Chief of the United States forces, and a splendid specimen of 
the cultured soldier and gentleman. 

Both armies marched over nearly the same route toward 
the capital. Leaving the tierra caliente, with its pestilential 
climate and innumerable pests, in the form of mosquitoes, 
wood-ticks, and other insects, it entered the garden-land of 
Jalapa and into what is known as the tierra teviplada^ and a 



1 1 

still further rise brought them to the high table-lands of Puebla 
and near the present city of that name. Here Cortez halted, 
not only to refresh his little army, but he was here opposed by 
the Tlascalans, a warlike people who had never submitted to 
the rule of Montezuma. The Tlascalans were bold warriors, 
and with a large force opposed the march of Cortez, making 
repeated charges upon his little band ; but the skill of the 
Spanish commander, combined with the use of cannon and 
firearms, and aided by his little troop of cavalry, gained the 
day, and eventually resulted not only in their submission but 
in forming an alliance with the Spaniards against their en- 
emy, the Aztecs, 

The entrance of Cortez into Tlascala was a royal one, and 
its inhabitants turned out in great numbers to greet the Span- 
iards, to whom they presented wreaths of roses ; their houses 
were hung with flowers, and arches of boughs were thrown 
across the streets. Cortez, in writing to the emperor, speaks 
of the greatness of the city, and compares it with Granada 
under the Moors. The population of the city must have been 
large, as it is repeatedly asserted that thirty thousand souls 
were often gathered in the market on a public day. 

From Tlascala he proceeded to Cholula, which he had been 
invited to visit through the chief men of the city, and 
although it lay off the direct road to the Mexican capital, he 
decided to inspect this great commercial emporium, the inhab- 
itants of which excelled in the manufacture of cotton and 
agave cloths, and also in working in metals and pottery. I 
will not detain you with the details of his visit to the Cholu- 
lans, or of the attempt there made to decoy him into a snare, 
and thus destroy his entire party, nor of the heavy retribution 
that followed its discovery. It "was in this city that the Span- 
iards saw the great pyramid of Cholula, one of the very largest 
of the empire, a more detailed account of which I give fur- 
ther on. 

His march from Cholula to the capital city of the Aztecs 
was not further opposed, and by invitation of Montezuma he 
led his force of Spanish troops and Tlascalan allies directly 
into the heart of the city, and was quartered in the vicinity of 
the great teocalli, which, with its surroundings, occupied the 



12 

present grand square of the City of Mexico, and some of the 
adjoining streets. 

And now it seems time to speak of the teocalli, or religious 
temples, which were widely distributed throughout the Aztec 
dominions, and form one of the chief objects of interest in 
our remarks this evening. Translated literally, teocalli means 
house of a God (" teotl, a god ; calli, a house "). 

These teocalli or Mexican temples were very numerous ; 
there were often hundreds in the principal cities, and, to aid 
in your better understanding of their construction, I give Pres- 
cott's description of them : " They were solid masses of earth, 
covered with brick or stone, and in their form resembled the 
pyramidal structures of ancient Egypt. The bases of many 
of them were more than a hundred feet square ; the great 
temple in the City of Mexico was said to have been about 
three hundred feet, and they towered to a great height. They 
were distributed into four or five stories, each of smaller 
dimensions than that below. The ascent was by a flight of 
steps at an angle of the pyramid on the outside. This led to 
a sort of terrace or gallery at the base of the second story, 
which passed quite around the building to another flight of 
stairs, commencing also at the same angle as the preceding 
one, and directly over it, and leading to a similar terrace, so 
that one had to make the circuit of the temple several times 
before reaching the summit. In some instances the stairway 
led directly up the centre of the western face of the building." 
The model before you may be taken to represent one of the 
latter class. " The top was a broad area on which were erected 
one or two towers, forty or fifty feet high. These were the 
sanctuaries which contained the sacred images of the presiding 
deities. Before these towers stood the dreadful stone of sac- 
rifice, and two lofty altars on which fires were kept, as inex- 
tinguishable as those in the temple of Vesta. There were said 
to be six hundred of these altars on smaller buildings within 
the inclosure of the great temple of Mexico, which, with those 
on the sacred edifices of other parts of the city, shed a brilliant 
illumination over its streets through the darkest night." 

The number of priests connected with these temples was 
enormous, and in the great temple of the City of Mexico they 



were estimated as high as five thousand. It was the high- 
priest who performed the service of sacrifice ; for this pur- 
pose the temple was surmounted by a large block of stone, 
that in the great temple of Mexico was of jasper, which had 
a convex surface, and when the victim was laid upon it the 
breast was raised, which enabled the priest to perform his 
work with greater ease. There is a good specimen of this 
stone now in the museum of the City of Mexico. The breast 
of the victim was cut open by the aid of a sharp razor of itzli, 
or obsidian, the hand thrust into the wound, and the heart 
torn out, which, hot and reeking, was deposited on a golden 
censer before the idol. The body of the slaughtered victim 
was then hurled down the steep stairs of the pyramid, and the 
remains were gathered up by the multitude beneath, who pre- 
pared with them the cannibal repast. The number of these 
sacrifices within the empire is given at figures that stagger 
belief, but scarcely any author estimates the yearly sacrifices 
at less than twenty thousand, while others give the numbers 
at fifty thousand. At the dedication of the great temple of 
Huitsilopochtli, the Mexican war-god, i486, and for which the 
prisoners taken in battle had been for several j-ears reserved, 
it is said that seventy thousand captives perished at the shrine 
of this deity. This seems incredible, but it is attested by the 
best authors. It is stated that one of Cortez's soldiers counted 
the skulls, which it was customary to preserve in one of the 
edifices attached to the great temple, and that they numbered 
one hundred and thirty-six thousand. This is given by Bernal 
Diaz, and this faithful soldier is generally accredited with tell- 
ing the truth — at least, his narrative so impressed me. Further- 
more, he wrote his narrative forty-nine years after the con- 
quest, and at his mature age he was not likely to be very far 
wrong in his statements. The present cathedral in \.\\& plaza 
mayor of the City of Mexico stands on the same site that was 
occupied by the great Aztec temple, and its foundation is 
believed to be formed from the images of their various deities. 
But do not imagine, from what I have above related, that 
these people were cannibals ; for, while their religious cere- 
monies authorized their feasting upon the bodies of those that 
they had sacrificed to their gods, they would not under other 



14 

conditions partake of human flesh ; and Diaz, in describing the 
appearance of the City of Mexico after its capture, says that 
he had never seen a place where there were so many weak and 
sickly men, women, and children, who were famishing for the 
want of food. The ground had been dug up to get at the 
roots of such vegetation as it afforded, and the trees were 
stripped of their bark; but in the midst of all this distress 
there was no evidence that they had in a single instance preyed 
upon each other. 

My own observations of these Aztec temples were limited ; 
during the stay at Puebla of General Worth's division, to 
which my regiment belonged, I visited the one at Cholula, 
dedicated to Ouetzalcoatl, the god of air. This enormous 
mound of earth and brick has a perpendicular height of 177 
feet, and covers an area of about forty-four acres, and the plat- 
form on the top covers more than one acre. The date of its 
construction is unknown, as the Aztecs found it there when 
they entered on the plateau of Puebla. Humboldt gives a 
good illustration of the size of this teocalli by comparing it to 
a mass of bricks covering a square four times as large as the 
Place Vendome at Paris, and of twice the height of the Louvre. 
The view from its summit is superb ; to the west lies the chain 
of mountains which incloses the Valley of Mexico, and standing 
in their midst are those splendid snow-peaks, Popocatepetl and 
Iztaccihuatl (white woman), and nearer, the beautiful-shaped 
Sierra de la Malinche, which bears the outline of a recumbent 
female figure ; at your feet is seen the splendid and fertile 
plateau of Puebla, bountifully watered, and yielding the best 
wheat in the country. 

On another occasion, and after the fall of Mexico, while the 
army was occupying the vaUey and awaiting the negotiations 
which were then pending for peace, a party of officers, escorted 
by a detail of cavalry under Major Sibley, made an expedition 
to the south of the city and past the valley of Cuernavaca and 
so on to the cave of Cacauamilpa, one of the most interesting 
excursions I have ever made. On this trip we passed the ruins 
of an ancient teocalli, which surmounted a hill that was ter- 
raced ; in this instance the Aztecs had chosen a natural mound 
and on it erected the temple of sacrifice. The rock-work was 



15 

entire, and the steps, which were still in position, were placed 
in the face of the temple, similar to the one you have before 
you ; and, like it, growing from the base, sides, and summit 
were shrubs and plants which were found in tropical Mex- 
ico. Tile rock-work was smoothly cut and closely joined, and 
from a casual inspection I should say the material was of 
granite. The terraces of the hill or mountain were very dis- 
tinct, and served the same purposes in the Aztecs' religious 
ceremonies as the various stories of their temples which the 
Spaniards found in the cities of Mexico, viz., in the display of 
their victims as they were led along the mountain side up to 
the place of sacrifice. 

Having given at some length an account of their teocallis 
and some of the ceremonies attending their religious and su- 
perstitious rites, let us turn to a more pleasing and agreeable 
picture of Aztec character, which, apart from the usages which 
their religion inspired, possessed many of the characteristics 
of a civilized community. 

Of the early origin of this people little is positively known, 
but their first home has been placed in New Mexico at a point 
called Aztlan. Be it there or in more remote regions, it is 
firmly claimed that they came from the north, and according to 
an oracle were to wander until they beheld perched upon the 
stem of a prickly pear, which grew from the crevice of a 
rock, a splendid specimen of the royal eagle with a serpent in 
its talons and with wings expanded. This, tradition says, they 
found in Lake Tezcuco, in the Valley of Mexico, and there 
they laid the foundation of their city by sinking piles, on which 
they erected light structures of reeds and rushes. This took 
place about the year 1325. 

The place was called Tenochtitlan, from its miraculous origin, 
though only known to the Spaniards by its other name of 
Mexico, derived from the war-god, Mexitli. This legend of 
the city's foundation is further commemorated by the device 
of the eagle and cactus being adopted as the arms of modern 
Mexico. 

And here I wish to digress for a moment and give my per- 
sonal experience of the refreshing nature of the tuna, or fruit 
of the prickly pear. The morning drill hours, while my regi- 



i6 

nient, the Fourth Infantry, was stationed in the City of Mexico, 
were usually from 9 A. M. until ii A. M., or even later, nearly 
half * an hour being consumed in marching to and from the 
drill ground ; and on our return to quarters, which were in 
the Hospital Terceros, near the Mineria, or College of Mines, I 
often resorted to a fruit-stand near by and ate a dozen or more 
of the juicy tunas, which I found most refreshing after the 
fatigue of a long, hot drill, the Mexican who served me cutting 
the fruit open and presenting it so that I effectually avoided 
all the prickles with which the outer surface is so well 
guarded. 

Let us now take a glance at the form of government of the 
Aztecs; their laws, judicial system, and method of raising the 
revenues which supported the state. Prescott tells us that 
the sovereign was selected from the brothers of the late ruler, 
or, in default of them, from his nephews and from among those 
who had distinguished themselves in battle. The new monarch 
was installed with great pomp. The captives that he had 
taken in battle served not only to swell the procession into 
the capital, but also to furnish victims for the religious cere- 
monies. 

The power of the monarch was absolute, and all laws ema- 
nated from him, and were executed by judges appointed by 
the crown, who retained their offices during good behavior, 
and who were held responsible with their lives for the faithful 
execution of their high trust. To receive presents or a bribe 
was punishable with death. The various laws of the Aztecs 
were registered and exhibited to the people through their 
hieroglyphical paintings; a capital sentence was indicated 
by a line traced with an arrow across the portrait of the 
accused. 

Slavery was permitted, but there were various grades of it ; 
those taken prisoners in war were almost always reserved for 
sacrifice. There were other classes of slaves — criminals, public 
debtors, persons who from poverty gave up their freedom, and 
children sold by their parents, owing to their inability to main- 
tain them ; in most of the latter cases the slavery was mild in 
form. 

The revenues for the support of the monarch and his sur- 




ANCIENT AZTEC IDOL AND KNIFE FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO. 



i; 



roundings, as also for the various deoartmenf = ^f 

tTxT/" "" t^-^^V™™ "'^ "°"" iands,a„d in part y 
HnH ?r ™ "'' P"^^'" '^"<^= *"= "''"^•"y paid in 

knd and large granaries were established for tl,e sto.i " 
of these revenues. While the places in the vicinity of th^ 
cap.tal were bound to supply workmen for the king they 
were also requ.red to furnish fuel, provisions, and whatever 

ZrZll ' "T "-"^— °f I- "ou;ehold. Th e 
uas also a tax on the various manufactures of the kinc-dom 
wh.ch tribute was paid in kind, and consisted of a great var,e7; 
o art.cles. such as cotton dresses, ornaments, arm's and u ! 
s.ls of copper, gra.n, fruits, cochineal, cacao, mats, etc. 

Communication was kept up with the most remote parts of 

he emp.re by means of couriers, and post-houses were es ab 

Lshed along the main routes, about six miles apart The 

cour,er, bearmg his despatches in the form of hieroglyphical 

pamt.ngs, ran w,th them to the first station, where they were 

sta'r- h^ltl" ""T^" '"' '^"'"^ f"™"'' '° another 

stage, by this means despatches were often carried two hun- 
dred n,,les per day, and it is said that fresh fish were served 
at Montezuma s table twenty-four hours after they were taken 
from the Gulf of Mexico. 

rer^arl-rblf' "T' '"'"f ""S -'bj«ts in connection with this 
remarkable people were the.r hieroglyphics, or picture writings 
wh.ch m the New World correspond to those of the Egyptilt 
.n the Old, although the former were of a greatly infenw'odT 
Imperfect as they were, they seem to have met the demand 
o the nat.on and been able to record their laws ; their ro Is 
which gave the taxes imposed upon the various towns; the; 
mythology, calendars, and rituals ; and, taken with the oral 
ns ruction given by the priests, who instructed the youth in 
his ory, arithmetic astronomy, mythology, etc., completed 
what may be termed the literature of the Aztecs 

The manuscripts were made of various materials, sometimes 
of cotton cloth or of skins nicely prepared ; but the chief 
part was from the leaves of the aloe, which they called ,„^^u,y. 
Out of this was made a species of paper resembling the E%p. 
t.an papyrus, which, when properly dressed, resembled parch- 
ment. Some of these manuscripts, still extant, show their 



original brilliant colors. The numbers existing at the time of 
the conquest were very large, especially in Tezcuco, the most 
cultivated of the Aztec citits, but, owing to the fanaticism of 
the Spanish priests, large numbers of these works were col- 
lected and piled up in a " mountain heap," and reduced to 
ashes. 

A few of the Mexican manuscripts have found their way 
to Europe, and are carefully preserved in public libraries and 
museums. The most valuable of them is known as the Men- 
doza Codex, or Mendoza Manuscript, which is now in the 
Bodleian Library at Oxford, England, and is claimed to be 
veritable Aztec work. Its importance is due to the light it 
gives of the history of the nation, the tributes paid by the 
various cities, and the domestic economy of the Aztecs. It 
may be of interest to note that this manuscript has had a most 
eventful history. It was sent, shortly after the conquest, by 
the Viceroy Mendoza as a present to Charles the Fifth, but 
the vessel that was conveying it was captured by a French 
cruiser, and the manuscript taken to Paris, where it was pur- 
chased by the chaplain of the English legation, who doubt- 
less recognized its great value. The most important of these 
Mexican manuscripts extant have been brought together in 
the valuable work of Lord Kingsborough, who gives both a 
Spanish and English interpretation of them. 

The Aztecs were well advanced in agriculture, and all but the 
great nobles and soldiers were engaged in cultivating the soil. 
The chief toil was done by the men, but the women performed 
the lighter work, such as sowing the seed, husking the corn, and 
similar duties. 

In connection with the resources of the country and the 
supplies which it was capable of furnishing, I add what the 
conquerors saw on their first visit to the grand square of Mex- 
ico. This is given at some length. They were astonished at 
the crowds of people, and at the amount of merchandise that 
was collected and for sale, and all arranged with such great reg- 
ularity. They note some of the articles, such as gold, silver, 
feathers, mantles, chocolate, and various kinds of skins, dressed 
and undressed. At some places in the square, women sold 
fresh fish, and at other points there were collections of earthen 



19 

ware and wooden household furniture, for sale. The meat- 
market was stocked with fowls, game, and dogs, vegetables and 
fruit, and articles of food already prepared. Sweet pastry was 
also sold, and around the sides of the great square, under 
piazzas, were stored large quantities of grain, and there were, 
besides, shops for the sale of various kinds of goods. The 
noise and bustle attending this barter and trading could be 
heard at a long distance, and several of the Spaniards, who had 
been at Constantinople and Rome, said, "that for convenience 
and regularity they had never seen the like." 

We know they were well skilled in irrigation, and their 
irrigating ditches attested that they never made the attempt of 
forcing water to run up-hill, as has been found in some of the 
improperly constructed ditches of the mining regions of our 
country. The City of Mexico was supplied with fresh water 
from Chapultepec and beyond, by much the same system as 
at the present day, as the conquerors state that, on entering 
the city, *' they saw the aqueduct of Chapultepec from the 
top of the great temple." 

One of the important articles which we owe to Mexico is 
the cacao, the fruit of which furnishes the chocolate, and takes 
its name from the Mexican word chocalat/,^x\d which is now so 
extensively grown throughout the West Indies. In its manu- 
factured form it furnishes the mildest and one of the most 
healthful beverages of the day. It is a little singular that this 
article should have found its way into England about the same 
date as tea and coffee — viz., about the year 1650 — tea having 
been brought by the Dutch from China, and coffee introduced 
from Abyssinia by way of Constantinople. 

But the great staple of the country was Indian corn, and 
the Aztecs were as skilful in its preparation as any of the 
cooks of more modern times. All of us who took part in the 
second conquest can well recall the groups of market-women 
who established themselves in various sections of the Mexican 
capital, and in the early morning sold, especially to the laboring 
class, the thin corn-cakes called tortillas, together with chili 
Colorado con carne, or, to translate, corn cakes with meat and 
red peppers. 

The maguey, or agave Americana, entered very largely into 



20 

their agricultural products, as before noted ; its leaves furnished 
a paste from which paper was made ; its juice, when fermented, 
became an intoxicating beverage of which the natives of the 
present day are very fond, and I have seen in recent years 
entire train loads of it, in casks, being transported into the 
Cit)' of Mexico. 

The process of gathering the juice of the maguey, or cen- 
tury plant, is noticeable, and as I often saw the Mexicans 
about Tacubya and in the vicinity of the bloody battlefield of 
Molino del Rey engaged in this work, I venture to give their 
method. In the first place, the central stalk of the plant is. 
cut off, and a cavity hollowed in the receptacle, or central part 
of the plant ; into this the juice from the other stalks or fatty 
leaves flows. The native, provided with a cured pigskin, 
which is held in a netted bag, with a long, hollow gourd 
sucks the juice from the cavity, and, applying his finger to the 
lower end of the gourd to prevent the juice from running out, 
turns the juice into the pigskin, covers over the cavity in the 
plant to prevent the dirt getting into it, and then goes on to 
the next. In many instances these plants form the hedges 
of the various fields; in others they are planted in regular rows 
and the entire field taken up by them. 

The juice of this plant when first collected has a sweetish 
taste, but does not possess any stimulating qualities. In a 
short time, however, it undergoes fermentation, when it ac- 
quires sufficient alcohol to produce intoxication. When dis- 
tilled it becomes a fiery liquor that we found had a most 
hurtful effect upon our soldiers. The Mexicans call this liquor 
mescal, but our men soon gave it the name of rascal, which 
tersely describes its injurious effects upon the brain. 

Prior to the introduction of railways, this article reached the 
capital in hogskins transported on the backs of mules or 
donkeys. The latter very hardy and useful animal was greatly in 
use at the time General Scott conquered the country, and as 
an exemplification of their endurance, Ulysses S. Grant, at that 
time lieutenant and regimental quartermaster of the Fourth 
Infantry, told me that he had seen a heavily loaded army 
wagon accidentally run over one of these animals, which was 
lying down with its pack on, and that, after being assisted up 



21 

and unloaded, it merely shook itself and began munching the 
grass near at hand. 

Of the other uses to which the maguey was applied, its 
leaves furnished an excellent thatch for the cabins of the 
humbler class ; a thread was produced from its strong fibre and 
made into a coarse cloth ; pins and needles were made from the 
thorns at the ends of its leaves ; and the root, when properly 
cooked, became a nutritious and palatable vegetable. 

The Aztecs understood the art of making bronze, and from 
it fashioned tools for the working of the hardest minerals, and 
their sculptured images were so numerous that even at the 
present day numbers are found in different parts of the em- 
pire. Two good specimens of their work in bas-relief, one of 
the last Montezuma and the other of his father, were cut in 
the solid rock at the groves at Chapultepec and were standing 
as late as 1754. But the most remarkable piece of sculptured 
work is the great calendar stone, which was dug up in 1790 and 
is now built into the lower wall of the cathedral in the City 
of Mexico. From it is learned that the Aztecs could fix the 
hours of the day as well as the solstices and equinoxes ; and 
also the passage 'of the sun across the meridian of Mexico, 

I have alread}^ spoken of some of the articles produced 
through their handiwork. The art in which they most ex- 
celled was plmnaje, or feather-work, the rich plumage of the 
tropical birds furnishing material for fashioning the most ex- 
quisite patterns, which were pasted on fine cotton web and 
made into dresses for the wealthy class. Specimens of these 
fabrics, which were sent to Europe by the conquerors, excited 
more admiration than any other articles coming from the New 
World. An aged Aztec chief's advice to his son shows that 
trade was honorable and highly esteemed ; I quote it: "Apply 
thyself, my son, to agriculture, or to feather-work, or some 
other honorable calling. Thus did your ancestors before you, 
else how would they have provided for themselves and their 
families? Never was it heard that nobility alone was able to 
maintain its possessor." 

In their domestic life and manners they exhibited a degree 
of refinement and elegance unlooked for in a rude people. The 
women, alike with the men, shared in their social entertain- 



22 

ments and festivities, which were often on a large scale. The 
halls were scented with perfumes and the courts filled with 
fragrant flowers, which were distributed among the guests as 
they arrived, and napkins and urns of water were set before 
them just before and after eating. Tobacco was used at the 
end of the feast, as at the present day ; the Aztecs called it 
yetl. The word tobacco, it may be mentioned, is of Haytian 
origin and was spelled tabacco. 

Game, especially the turkey, v/as largely used at their repasts. 
At the time of the conquest the Spaniards saw large numbers 
of these birds in a domesticated state among the Aztecs, and, 
as we have before noted, they formed one of the staple articles 
in the payment of taxes in kind. By Europeans it has been 
thought that, owing to its name, the turkey came from the 
East, but we all know that on the settlement of this continent 
the bird was found distributed from the northern part of the 
United States to Panama. Benjamin Franklin gave it the 
preference to the bald eagle as our national emblem, and I 
am disposed to agree with him. I must speak in this con- 
nection of an incident in our Mexican War that was at least 
amusing. During the fighting in the streets of the City 
of Mexico a recruit came across a turkey buzzard, which he 
shot, thinking he had secured a real turkey, and with the bird 
attached to his belt wandered into the College of Mines. 
When the students saw him they were immensely amused and 
burst into an uproar of laughter. 

Bernal Diaz, in his account of the household and daily 
life of Montezuma, describes at some length one of his re- 
pasts, and says: "The ordinary meats were domestic fowls, 
pheasants, geese, partridges, quails, venison, Indian hogs, 
pigeons, hares, rabbits, and many other birds and animals 
common to the country, and his cooks possessed the art of 
serving them in thirty different modes. Fruit of various kinds 
was placed before the emperor, and, as an after-course, a 
stimulating liquor prepared from cocoa was served. 

" The repast was varied by the introduction of singers and 
dancers, and also certain hump-backed and deformed Indians, 
who played tricks and made jests. This was followed by a 
few whiffs from little reeds containing- a mixture of amber and 



23 

tobacco, and then a short siesta." The numbers of his guards 
and domestics that were served after the emperor exceeded 
one thousand, and the household of women and inferior ser- 
vants that were fed was prodigious. Pulque formed one of 
the beverages of these repasts, but was chiefly indulged in by 
the older men. Intoxication was severely punished when it 
occurred among the young men at the feast. 

As an erroneous impression seems to obtain among some as 
to the physical aspect of the Aztecs at the time of the con- 
quest, I give what I have gathered from the earliest writers. 
In many instances the persons of the chief men are described, 
and in most cases they are represented as tall of stature, strong 
and well proportioned, and with broad faces. Montezuma is 
reported of good stature and possessing what old Fuller 
quaintly calls a " handsome man-case," and with a fairer 
complexion than most Indians; he wore short hair just cov- 
ering his ears, and his beard was black but thin ; his face is 
described as long, and his features combined both gravity 
and good humor. "Guatimotzin, his successor, was of noble 
appearance both in person and countenance ; his features large 
and cheerful, eyes lively, and complexion very fair for an 
Indian. His wife was a niece of Montezuma, and was young 
and very handsome," I can testify to the physical condition 
of the descendants of the Aztecs in 1847; ^ov many of them 
were remarkable as bearers or porters, and would come into 
the City of Mexico, from miles away, with a pack or load upon 
their backs which astonished most of us. 

This is a brief outline of the laws, arts, customs, and usages of 
this remarkable people, which I have gathered from Prescott, 
Bernal Diaz, and other writers; a nation which, while inferior 
to the Tezcucans, their near neighbors, in intellectual culture 
and social refinement, was composed of a hardy and warlike 
people, who, from rude beginnings, in the course of two cen- 
turies extended their empire from the Valley of Mexico to 
the Gulf on the east, and to Honduras and Guatemala on the 
south. All this was not effected unaided, as they formed with 
their neighbors, the Tezcucans and Tlacopans, that remarkable 
alliance which has no parallel in history. In this agreement 
it was stipulated that the nations above named should support 



24 

each other in their wars, oiTensive and defensive, and that in 
the distribution of the spoil one-fifth should be given the 
Tlacopans, and the remainder divided among the other 
powers; and during the century of continuous warfare that 
ensued, no instance is related where the parties quarrelled over 
the division of the spoil. 

In closing this hurried account of the Aztecs, I cannot avoid 
expressing my great satisfaction, and I am sure I but echo 
your own, to the promoters of this Club, who chose so appro- 
priately the name of a people who had made such great prog- 
ress in manufactures and art, and who ruled so wisely and dis- 
creetly as to raise themselves far above the North American 
Indian, and almost to a level with the nations of the far East. 
If to this be added the brilliant military records of so many 
of our past and present members, surely have we reason to 
glory in being Aztecs. 

. At the close of Colonel Floyd-Jones's address, Professor 
Henry Coppee, of the Lehigh University, an original member 
of the Club, was called upon to answer, which he did in the 
following happy manner : 

Friends and Comrades : 

When Davy Jones* — I beg his pardon, I mean Colonel De 
Lancey Floyd-Jones — wrote that address, he didn't mean the 
person who was to answer it to have much chance ; he has 
used all the thunder and covered the field with teocalli ruins. 
So when Fitz-John Porter — I beg his pardon, too, I mean 
General Porter, our President — selected me to answer him he 
may have thought he was doing me an honor and a kindness ; 
but, I dare say, many of the fellows present are very glad that 
he did not ask them ; and yet, Mr. President, there is some- 
thing to be said, and I do esteem it a pleasure and an honor to 
respond. 

There is such a thing as eloquent silence, and this beautiful 
centre-piece, considered as a memento, speaks for itself more 
effectively than any poor words of mine. The old ruin sug- 

* Davy Jones was Colonel Floyd-Jones's nickname at the United States Military 
Academy. 



25 

gests the days of Cortez, Bernal Diaz, and Alvarado of the 
Leap. The royal palm growing out of its ruined top calls us 
back to the time when its spreading leaves made tessellations 
of shade in the charming moonlight, only broken by the sil- 
houettes of the lovely successors of the Aztec maidens and the 
glamour of tropical love-making. 

The maguey clustered at its base makes one long {ox pul- 
que, whether in redolent pigskins or in bottles. I repeat, Mr. 
President, our friend Floyd-Jones has covered himself with 
pride and glory. Being of a jealous disposition, I envy him 
the sentiments which led to this present, and the great satis- 
faction, which I am sure we can all see by his smiles, he is ex- 
periencing in our reception of it. I think that we ought to 
sing, " He's a Jolly Good Fellow," and give him three times 
three — but not, if you please, until I get through. That I am 
just about to do, however. Let me gravely point him out to 
our younger members as an excellent example. Young gentle- 
men, we want but one Aztec pyramid, and we now have it, 
with the proud knowledge that there is not another like it in 
this country ; but if any one desires to present a silver punch- 
bowl or a loving cup, or some other silver token and souvenir, 
the Aztec Club of 1847 is by no means arrogant, but will ac- 
cept such gracious gifts with becoming recognition, and use 
them with generous bumpers. Mr. President, in the language 
of Spanish orators, " I have said." " He dicJio ! " 

To the toast, "The Younger Members of the Aztec Club," 
Mr. Graham Frost, of St. Louis, responded, and made an 
admirable speech, which was greatly applauded. This was fol- 
lowed by brief remarks from Mr. J. Watts Kearney and Mr. 
Charles Riddle, both of whom spoke of 'the interest which the 
younger comrades of the Club have in its present success and 
in* its perpetuity, sentiments which were warmly received 
General Tower responded to the toast " To General Winfield 
Scott," and gave some very interesting incidents connected 
with the battles in the Valley of Mexico, closing with a hand- 
some tribute to the great commander and cultured gentleman. 
Colonel Thomas Y. Field, of the Marine Corps, made some 
entertaining remarks on the attack on the Belen and San 



26 



Cosmo gates, and concluded with a very high trihiute to the 
Aztec Club as viewed from his standpoint. Admiral Rhind, 
in some short remarks, spoke of the part taken by the navy 
and Marine Corps in the conquest of Mexico, and indicated 
by his vigorous language that he is fully of the opinion that 
the marines are worthy of all praise in their past and present 
faithful work. Brief speeches were also made by Generals 
Porter, Frost, and Van Vliet, and the guests, after singing 
several stanzas of *' Benny Havens, Oh," gradually dispersed, 
feeling that the evening had been a most enjoyable one, and 
looking forward with interest to another equally pleasant 
meeting, with full ranks, in October, 1893. 




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